GoPro accessories can be pricey — but you could soon add wheels to a GoPro Hero Session for a dollar and some change with a device that probably fits in your pocket. How? Add the camera to the top of a classic toy redesigned just for the task. The Hot Wheels Zoom In is a toy car designed to cart around smaller bodied GoPros to record what is probably the closest you will ever come to a first-person view of what it’s like to actually ride on the toy track.
The Zoom In fits a Session or Hero 5 Session camera. A flip-up clip and a space in the body of the car designed just for the task holds the GoPro in place. Snap the camera in, and, viola, a moving miniature camera.
The $1.09 Zoom In is pocket change compared to a professional video slider, not that the quality of plastic car wheels and the noise they (probably) produce is going to get professional results. But the combination of a tiny camera and a cheap toy car is a hack for getting moving shots through small spaces for some larger-than-life video.
Of course, Hot Wheels is using the Zoom In as a way to capture first-person stunts on the company’s different tracks. With the tracks, you can send the GoPro looping, swooping and swerving through different obstacles. YouTube is already home to a number of Hot Wheels point-of-view videos made with DIY solutions to get the camera on a toy car.
A GoPro mount that doubles as a toy could also serve as an incognito video camera for some up-close shots of kids playing cars without actually getting up close. GoPro is continuing to push the idea of using action cameras for more than just sports — and a Hot Wheels mount could be a pretty sweet way to capture some childhood memories.
A $1.09 car probably isn’t going to sway many to buy a $120 to $200 camera, but as far as expanding the mounts in your GoPro bag, it doesn’t get much cheaper than that. The Zoom In is slated for store availability later in June.
